by
susieq » Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:09 am
The concept of 'Contented Dementia' is all very well but how do you 'go with the flow' when your caree's actions are possibly dangerous ! Mine still thinks she can climb ladders to wash windows and change net curtains; she also thinks that she just can trundle off down the road to do some shopping when she feels like it forgetting that she has had two knee replacements and that both hips need doing and therefore her mobility is seriously compromised.
'Contented Dementia' also advocates telling lies to keep the patient happy ! Like perpetuating the myth that someone is still alive when they've been dead for a number of years. My Mum often asks me where Dad is - if I lie and say something like 'he's gone out for a while' then she keeps fretting about when he's coming back. But if I tell her the truth, that he died 20 years ago, then she's OK with that - a bit unhappy that she's forgotten, but not unhappy that he's actually dead. Lies always come home to roost - 'if at first you practise to deceive.......' etc. You have to be able to remember the lies to keep up the fiction, because contrary to popular belief, dementia patients don't forget everything they're told - they always remember what you don't want them to remember ! It's called 'sods law' !!
